Property owner faces $421,900 EPA fine

BOSTON - Private Reserve Properties LLC, a Providence company, faces an Environmental Protection Agency penalty of up to $421,900 for what the agency says are repeated violations of federal lead-based paint disclosure laws and regulations when leasing residential property in Providence. The fine was issued Friday, July 20.

Private Reserve Properties officials did not immediately return a phone call placed by Providence Business News.

A recent complaint to EPA alleged that Private Reserve Properties failed to notify prospective tenants, including families with young children, about potential lead-paint hazards as required by the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 and the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule.

Private Reserve Properties owns about 50 properties, with about 130 rental units, throughout Providence. Many of the company’s holdings, including several subject to the complaint, are in environmental justice areas, which have higher than average rates of poverty.

The complaint asserts 61 violations of the federal disclosure requirements associated with 16 leases signed between 2009 and 2011. According to the complaint, the company failed to disclose the presence of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in its housing, provide tenants with available reports and records regarding lead-based paint, and supply educational information regarding lead-based paint hazards. Eight of the leases include families with children who are more vulnerable to the adverse affects of lead exposure.

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